Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday condemned Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the region’s critical importance as a part of the Palestinian state. In a statement released by the official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), Abbas rejected any plans by Israel to “separate, occupy, cut off or isolate any part of the Gaza Strip.”
During a phone call with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Abbas said there was an urgent need to “immediately stop the aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” calling for the protection of civilians from ongoing airstrikes and ground operations. He stressed the necessity of swiftly increasing humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, food, water, electricity, and fuel, to ensure the functioning of hospitals and essential services.
Abbas urged the US to intervene to prevent what he described as “attacks, murders, house demolitions, and expulsion” of Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Jordan Valley, areas he asserted were undergoing “silent and planned annexation” by Israel.
Abbas also reiterated his commitment to pursuing a two-state solution based on international resolutions, proposing the initiation of this process with Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations and the convening of an international peace conference.
This plea comes amid a large-scale Israeli military operation named “Iron Swords” in Gaza against Hamas, which has resulted in over 15,500 Palestinian fatalities. The operation is a response to atrocities committed by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli authorities.